The Brokest Country Has the Brokest Citizens

I wrote yesterday that “Maybe you have to be Greece before most people get seriously concerned about sovereign debt.” Oops. My mistake. It turns out that the United States is already, by at least one basic measure, broker than Greece. This chart, from the Senate Budget Committee, shows how much citizens of various countries owe, on a per capita basis, in national government debt. The average American owes more than the average Greek (or anyone else):

But don’t worry, you say. Surely our fearless leader, BHO, and the many geniuses employed in his administration have a plan to address the debt crisis. Right? Well, no, actually, they don’t. The administration’s hope, as expressed in Obama’s FY 2013 budget, is that by 2022, if all goes according to plan and every assumption embedded in the budget comes true, the average American’s debt will rise by 70%, to $75,000.

The American ship of state is beginning to resemble the Costa Concordia as it approached the rocks off Giglio Island. One question that will someday be answered by history is: which ship had the more irresponsible captain at the helm?